And the good that they do
Lawrence Today magazine, Fall 2005
Getting fired at the age of 15 from her first job as a part-time assistant
at the local library — for spending too much time reading! — never
dampened Kathleen Krull’s love for books. In fact, her termination produced
determination: to create books that meant as much to others as they did to
her.
Krull, ’74, made good on her promise and today is an award-winning author
of books for young people, with more than 50 fiction and nonfiction titles
to her credit (www.kathleenkrull.com).
One of six alumni honored at the June 18 Reunion Convocation, she was presented
with the Lucia R. Briggs
Distinguished Achievement Award. Named in honor of
the second president of Milwaukee-Downer
College, the Briggs Award recognizes alumni more than 15 years out of Lawrence
for outstanding contributions to and achievements in a career field.
After graduating from Lawrence with a degree in English, Krull began her career
in a variety of staff and editorial positions for several different publishers
and, by 1984, had turned to writing full-time, establishing herself as an accomplished
children’s author. Her 1980 book, Sometimes My Mom Drinks Too Much, written
under the pseudonym Kevin Kenny, earned awards from the Chicago Book Clinic,
the Children’s Book Council, and the National Council for Social Studies.
She also has explored the famous and the accomplished through a series of
award-winning “Lives
of” books, in which she has profiled musicians, athletes, artists, presidents,
and extraordinary women. The series has earned numerous honors, including Smithsonian magazine’s “Notable Books for Children,” the New York Public
Library’s “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing,” and an International
Reading Association Teacher’s Choice Award.
Heidi Stober, ’00, received the Nathan
M. Pusey Young Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes
Lawrence alumni of 15 years or less for significant contributions to and achievements
in a career field. The award
honors the tenth president of Lawrence, an exemplary figure in higher education
in the 20th century.
A budding opera star with a growing list of roles, Stober is currently a studio
artist with the Houston Grand Opera, having won the HGO’s prestigious
Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers in February 2004. More than
450 singers auditioned for the competition from around the world.
During the HGO’s 2004-05 season, Stober sang the roles of La China in
the world premiere of Salsipuedes and the Rose in The Little Prince and was
heard in the world premiere of Lysistrata.
After earning a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Lawrence,
Stober pursued a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory, where
she earned the John Moriarty Presidential Scholarship and performed the roles
of the dew fairy in Hansel and Gretel and Laurie in The Tender Land.
During the 2002-03 season, Stober sang with the Boston Lyric Opera, performing
as Yvette in La Rondine and Sally in Die Fledermaus. She was recognized with
the BLO’s Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence.
A native of Waukesha, Stober has sung as a studio artist with Colorado’s
Central City Opera, covering the role of Nellie in Summer and Smoke and
performing the roles of First Wife and First Gossip in the world premiere of Gabriel’s
Daughter. She also has performed with the Milwaukee Opera Theatre and
spent a year as the apprentice soprano in the Utah Symphony and Opera Ensemble
Program.
James Auer, ’50, was presented with the George
B. Walter Service to Society Award. Named in honor of Walter, a 1936 graduate
and former faculty member and dean of men at Lawrence, who believed strongly
that
every individual can and should make a positive difference in the world, the
award recognizes alumni who best exemplify the ideals of a liberal education
through socially useful service in their community, the nation, or the world.
Auer, who died in December 2004, at the age of 76, was honored posthumously;
the award was accepted by his wife, Marilyn (pictured below, right).
Considered by those who knew him best to be a classic Renaissance man for his
array of interests — writing, photography, history, and magic among them — Auer
spent more than 50 years as a newspaper reporter, features writer, and editor,
including the last 32 with the Milwaukee Journal, later the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, primarily
as an arts editor.
An enthusiastic supporter of the visual arts and known for his gentle and polite
demeanor, he was recognized with a Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement
Award earlier this year in
recognition of his contributions “to the wealth of artistic creativity” in
the state.
Auer, who served as the first president of the board of directors of Appleton’s
Attic Theatre and wrote the play The City of Light for the company,
began his journalism career in 1953 as a reporter for the Twin City News-Record in
Neenah. He spent 12 years (1960-72) working for the Post-Crescent, including
the last seven as Sunday editor. In addition to his print reporting, he wrote
and narrated several award-winning
documentaries.
Richard
Snyder, ’65, also received the Walter Service to Society Award.
Snyder, who graduated from Lawrence with a degree in mathematics, rose to become
executive vice president of Cognex, a world-renowned high-tech computing company
in Massachusetts, before turning his attention to becoming “a meaningful
volunteer.” Inspired by a trip to Japan, in 1997, he left the corporate
world for a volunteer position with a Boston day-care service. In a project
dubbed “Windows to the World,” he began placing computers in day-care
centers that served low-income, single-family homes, so that children would
have an opportunity to benefit from the technology before entering school.
A year later, he joined the Boston Public School system to work with its TechBoston
program, an initiative designed to bridge the digital divide between rich and
poor communities by teaching technical skills to help students who cannot afford
to or choose not to attend college prepare for possible careers in high-tech
industries.
Two years after Snyder became involved in the project, TechBoston’s enrollment
grew from ten students to 1,500 who were taking classes in 22 Boston high schools
and middle schools. In 2002, in response to a slow-down in the tech industry,
Snyder created a separate company out of the program — TechBoston
Consulting Group — to employ students to work on Web development and
networking projects for Massachusetts businesses and non-profit organizations.
In its first two years, TCG generated $130,000 in revenue. Today, the program
is used as a model for school districts around the country.
Stephanie
Howard Vrabec, ’80, received the Gertrude
B. Jupp Outstanding Service Award, presented to an alumna or alumnus of
more than 15 years who has provided outstanding service to the college. The
award honors Jupp, a 1918
graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College who was named M-D Alumna of the Year in
1964 for her long volunteer service to the college.
A 1980 graduate, Vrabec has been a board member of the Lawrence
University Alumni Association and served on the executive committee as vice president
for two years. She was a member of the presidential search committee for Rik
Warch’s successor and has been a regional event coordinator for the past
12 years. She has also worked as a volunteer for the admissions office, served
as co-chair of the 25th reunion steering committee, and been a host
parent for Lawrence international students.
James Spofford Reeve III, ’95, received the Marshall
B. Hulbert Young Alumni Service Award. Presented to alumni
of 15 or fewer years who have provided significant service to Lawrence, the
award honors Marshall Hulbert, a 1926 graduate known as “Mr. Lawrence,” who
contributed to thousands of Lawrentian lives and served the college and the
conservatory in many significant capacities during a 54-year career
A member of the fourth generation of his family to attend Lawrence, Reeve has
served his alma mater in numerous capacities, including as the chair of the
10th Reunion Gift Committee and a member of the Viking Gift Committee and the
5th Reunion Steering Committee. Vice-president of his class, Reeve spent four
years as a board member of the Lawrence University Alumni Association and has
volunteered as a Career Center panelist. He was selected to represent all alumni
as one of the welcoming speakers at May’s presidential
inauguration ceremonies
for Jill Beck.